Nai, the Piercer of the Veil
by LuarisN
Summary: Devastated by the death of her teacher and father-figure, Master Lito, Nai spent years searching for a way to bring him back. After failing quite definitively and very nearly losing herself along the way, she has come to the Institute of War to find herself and to make amends for what she has done.


Candidate: Nai

Date: 13 January, 22 CLE

OBSERVATION

Normally, when candidates are requested for judgment, they arrange for a dramatic entry. Or if they would prefer to go unnoticed, they enter quietly and cautiously, ready and waiting for their pursuers to catch wind of their whereabouts. Sometimes they will try to make a statement to the League as to why they came and what they wish to gain. Occasionally, a candidate will approach with fame and glory on their mind, leaving little room for their small, sometimes nonexistent, grasp of the responsibility that comes with joining the League – though few of the latter are ever admitted.

Nai did none of these. More than a year before, after the Ionian conflict with Noxus, the Institute of War sent out word that they were looking for champions to serve in the League of Legends on the behalf of Ionia. Nai had kept to herself despite pleas from her Ionian compatriots.

But now she was here, stepping into the hallway and escaping the torrential downpour outside. Despite the weather, the clothes she wore seemed unaffected, protected by a black cloak with the hood pulled up over her raven-black hair. The cloak itself was the most overtly unsettling thing about Nai. It billowed lazily just above the ground, as if it were being buffeted by the wind. But there was no wind, and on top of that, the cloak was _dry_.

Nai's steps were not graceful nor commanding, not even cautious, but merely measured as she approached the end of the hall. She looked straight ahead with empty, colorless eyes, her gaze meeting only the great marble doors in front of her and the five words inscribed above them: _The truest opponent lies within._

REFLECTION

When Nai first stepped foot into the space beyond the doors, all she could see was darkness. After a few more steps, she heard the distinct sound of the massive doors swinging shut behind her.

"Please lower any magical barriers that can interfere with your judgment." commanded a voice that echoed source-less from the black expanse of the room before her. Of course, Nai realized, her cloak was blocking some sort of magic that the summoners were using as part of her judgment. She decided to play along and lowered her hood, hoping that would be enough to allow the summoners to reach her properly.

As soon as she did, the darkness filled itself with thousands upon thousands of bright specks that burned with hot white intensity against the black canvas. Nai took a moment to let the image burn into her mind before turning around. Behind her was a seemingly infinite wall of dark, formless material that shimmered in the light produced by the flames. She had to duck as a new flame, burning more brilliantly and passionately than the rest, came flying out of the shapeless expanse towards her face. After a moment, it stopped moving and started to dim. In fact, it seemed like all the flames were getting dimmer. They were slowly burning themselves out, becoming mere embers against the void they had ended up in.

Nai found this thought to be the most saddening thing about the view before her. These flames were people once. They'd had families and loved ones in their previous lives. They'd had hopes and dreams and allies and enemies. They could think and feel and had memories that could probably bring Nai to tears. But she couldn't dwell on that now, not here anyway. She couldn't save everyone, and to see them now in this way, with their bodies dead and their souls left to wither out here in the dark, had set a low burning fury in Nai's heart. This was the way it was. Nothing meaningful happens after death, Nai now knew, and that made everything she'd lived through so much more painful.

Irelia was never the same after Master Lito died. She came to Nai for support, but Nai had nothing to offer her that could fill the void that her father left. The best she could do was offer kind words and keep her company as the threat of war loomed and Zelos became more distant. But now she could make up for everything; she just needed to find Lito among the countless flames that hung around her.

But that was impossible. She could never find a specific person out of this haystack of souls. And even if she could, would she be too late? Surely, the flames burned themselves out eventually. Nai searched frantically, dashing from one soul to the next for any signs that it could be the one she was seeking. Eventually, she collapsed to the ground, out of breath and with tears streaming down her face. How long had she been crying? Nai's throat was burning, her breaths were uneven, and her whole body ached.

 _Get up._

Some voice was calling out to her.

 _A true warrior would not give up so easily._

Could it be him? Nai pulled herself up and ran towards the source as fast as her body would carry her. Eventually, she stopped in front of another white flame, dimmer from years of smoldering alone in the darkness. "Master Lito? Is that you?" Nai whispered hopefully and desperately to the soul hovering in front of her.

 _You have come a long way, Nai._

"I know, I'm here to bring you back! You can come back with me and see Irelia and Zelos too. They've both grown so much. So much more than I have."

 _I am glad to hear that my children are well after I have gone, and I'm proud of them for it._

Nai pulled a sword from where it sat on her hip. It was a sword of her own creation, a sword not meant for fighting. She turned toward the shimmering wall and motioned for Lito to follow. "You can tell them yourself, we just need to hurry."

 _But most of all, I am proud of you, my most difficult student._

Nai stopped dead in her tracks now. Lito wasn't following.

 _My place is here. Your world is for the living._

"But..." She knew more than most that Lito was not easily swayed once he'd made up his mind, but she desperately struggled for words that might persuade him anyway.

 _Go on and live your life. A cloud does not stop for the rain it has left behind. And a warrior should not stop simply to mourn the loss of a fallen comrade._

Nai's hands were shaking visibly and her arms struggled to support the weight of her sword. Tears were streaming down her face faster than ever before, and she felt more fury building up in her heart. She'd come so far to save him, to bring him back to the living. And after all her work and all her preparation and all her tears, he had refused.

In a fit of rage and frustration, she grabbed a hold of Master Lito's flame and ran towards the shimmering veil that separated their worlds, dragging her sword behind her and ignoring the immense pain of holding the soul of another human being. When she reached the veil, she raised her sword up defiantly and struck the surface hard enough to rip open a hole large enough to pull herself and Lito out of that cursed place.

Nai didn't know what she expected would happen once she actually accomplished her goal, but this certainly wasn't it. All that was left of the white flame was a burnt out rock that it left behind, as black as the void she'd stolen it from. Nai wasn't crying anymore, but she wasn't satisfied either. She was just _empty_ , too far gone for simple sadness.

She heard Lito's voice again, echoing in her mind, "Why do you want to join the League?"

Nai looked back to the rock that had once been Lito, then she looked to the sword that she had crafted for the purpose of retrieving it, and then she looked at her hands. She had forgotten herself so long ago, living for the sake of a memory. Her voice was cold and calm when she finally spoke, "To fix a mistake." She pulled herself up, grabbed the hilt of her sword in both hands, and walked out of the darkness of the judgment chamber.

The summoners in charge of the judgment were waiting outside, their curiosity peaked. "How does it feel to have your thoughts exposed so clearly?"

Nai responded with a shrug trying to feign indifference, if that was even possible after having your mind read.

"And that cloak you're wearing?" asked another summoner who was surprised at its ability to prevent a telepathic link.

"My reward." With that, she left to look for her living chambers.

A warrior does not stop to mourn the loss of the fallen. She could only try to make amends.

* * *

Author's note:

I decided to use the judgment format to introduce the main character because I think it is pretty good at telling an interesting piece of their story and still leaving room for lots of extra stuff that would still be interesting to write about.

Anyway, feel free to rate, review, give me suggestion, or even criticism, or whatever. Anything is good, to be honest. And let me know what you think of the story and of the character and where you think I should go with it all.

I also have a tentative kit for Nai if, say, she was ever put in the game. I can put it in the author's notes of the next chapter.


End file.
